


thoughts that breathe

by hollow_city



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 15:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11039196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollow_city/pseuds/hollow_city
Summary: bart is convinced that wally's death is his fault and he needs to apologize.





	thoughts that breathe

**Author's Note:**

> i'm vehemently avoiding doing the project that's due in five hours and i'm also very sad but the former is not responsible for the latter, so this was born.

Dick's been having a rough night, as usual. He hasn't had a good one in a few months. He knows he should probably call Bruce or maybe Tim before he bleeds out on his couch, but he just doesn't want to. So, he haphazardly stitches and bandages the gash down his ribs that he got from being too careless. He's done that a lot in the past few months. 

When he tapes on the last bandage, he slowly pulls a t-shirt he pulled off the floor over his head, wincing the entire time. The gash isn't the only wound he sustained from tonight; a few bruises on his shoulder, a potentially cracked rib on the opposite side and a bullet graze to the thigh came along with it. He treated them all sluggishly, before collapsing onto his couch. All the air rushed from his lungs, and it took him a moment to gather the energy to suck it back in. 

Dick wasn't like this before. He wasn't like this when Wally was here. He wasn't self-destructive and constantly in limbo between rage and sadness. 

He lets out a low moan as he shifts to get more comfortable, but with all the bruises littered across his skin, it doesn't seem like he's getting anywhere. He finally settles on his back with his face pressed into the back of the couch. Just as he's about to fall into a dissatisfying sleep, something starts pounding on the door. Not just casual knocking, more like rapid  _the building is burning down_ knocking.

It's not Wally, he knows this, but for a split second, he allows himself to believe that it is. After that blissful moment, he drags himself off the couch as quickly as he can manage. He's moving as slow as a sloth but it's all he can manage without wincing like he's being torn to shreds from the inside. 

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he grumbles as he limps toward the door. He glares through the peep-hole, ready to yell at whoever's standing outside because  _it's three in the fucking morning, go away_ , but he stops short. 

Bart is standing outside his door, looking like a complete and utter mess. The kid's normally wavy hair is sticking up all over the place, his normally pale skin is looking a bit sickly, and he's twitching so bad he might as well be vibrating.

All the anger filling Dick's chest drains away as he pulls the door open.

"H-Hi! Did I wake you up? Uh, it's way too early for this, isn't it, I'm sorry, I'lljustgo," Bart rushes out the second he sees the older hero standing there. His golden eyes are wide and almost scared as he turns to leave.

Dick reaches out and puts his hand on Bart's shoulder in an attempt to make him stop, but pulls back immediately when the speedster flinches. 

"No, you didn't wake me up. What do you need?" he asks, stepping aside and jerking his head towards the inside of his apartment. Bart walks slowly past him, almost too slow. 

For a moment, he doesn't say anything. Just stands in Dick's living room, his eyes flicking around cautiously like they always have. For a moment, he's completely silent. When Dick takes a step forward, he can see the boy visibly tense and takes the same step back. He knows that Bart has boundaries and sometimes gets in a bad way because his past (their future?) will always haunt him. But even so, it doesn't seem to be that.

"Bart? What's-" Dick starts, but Bart cuts him off.

"I'm  _sorry_ ," he says, and it's like a dam breaks inside him, and suddenly, he's on the floor. He's on his knees and he's wrapped his arms around himself and his shoulders are shaking, and Dick has no idea what the hell he's supposed to do. 

His first instinct is to hug the kid but he's not sure if he wants that, so instead, he gets on his knees in front of him and tries to calm him down.

"Bart, look at me, come on, kid, tell me what's going on," he coaxes, trying to keep his voice calm.

Despite not being a part of their lives for long, Bart wormed his way into Wally's life and clung to him like a lifeline, consequently dragging Dick along for the ride. Not to mention, the kid hangs around Tim a lot. Because of these things, he can't help but feel like Bart is something like a little brother. 

The speedster finally looked up and the sight of his tear-filled eyes made Dick's heart crack just a little more. 

"This is all my fault!" he croaked, shaking his head. "I'm so sorry, I killed him!" 

At first, he's slightly worried that Bart's talking about accidentally committing murder, but then, it clicks. There's a reason that Bart came to  _him_ and not Barry. He's talking about Wally.

Dick stares with his mouth open like a fish for a moment, lost for words. Finally, he speaks. "Bart, listen to me. Wally's death was  _not_ your fault. That was  _not_ your fault. Why would you think that?"

Bart finally looks up and his chest heaves with a wet sob. "Because I came back here to save Grandpa, and I did, but then Wally died. If I never came back, Wally would be alive, and you'd be happy, and Artemis wouldn't be sad, and Grandpa wouldn't look at me weird, and I wouldn't have killed him!" 

He wants to tell the kid that it will be okay, that none of this is his fault, that Wally wouldn't blame him for this, but he can't seem to any of those words out. Instead, he reaches out tentatively and touches Bart's arm, looking for any signs of resistance. When he doesn't find any, he pulls the speedster into a tight hug. He was worried about crossing a line, but those worries fall away as Bart throws his arms around Dick's neck and holds on as tightly as he can.

"If Wally were here," he murmurs, trying to ignore the painful thud of his heart at the words, "he would call you an idiot."

Not the most eloquent, but it seems to do the trick for at least a moment because Bart manages a weak laugh in between his heavy breaths. 

"But he's not here," another painful stab in the heart, "and that's not your fault. You saved the world, kid. Wally was more than happy to give his life to make sure it stayed that way."

Bart only shakes his head. Dick sighs sadly.

"And since Wally's death isn't your fault, Artie and I being sad isn't your fault either," he tells him. Maybe they'll never get over it, either, but they'll be okay. 

After another moment, Bart sits back and stares down at the hardwood floor beneath them. It takes him a few more to gather himself before he finally looks up at Dick.

"Okay," he whispers. He doesn't look entirely convinced, but even making him budge just the slightest bit is enough for one night. They have more time. He'll get there. 

"Okay?" Dick asks, just to clarify. When Bart nods, he smiles just a little and stands. He offers a hand to the boy, who takes it, and pulls him to his feet. "Wanna stay here tonight? We can watch that movie that you love." He can never remember the title, but it's something dumb and  _totally_ _retro_.

Bart swipes at his eyes with his sleeve and nods, and for once, the kid actually looks his age. Most of the time, he looks years beyond how old he really is. 

"Alright, you go put it on, and I'll be right back," he tells him. The speedster looks all too eager to put the emotional exchange behind them as he snatches the TV remote from the coffee table. 

Dick watches him for a moment before disappearing into the kitchen. He was exhausted and planned on hitting the hay as soon as he'd finished treating his wounds, but now that Bart is here, he can't exactly do that. But he's not going to complain because the kid needs him. They both miss Wally, they miss him like they're missing a part of themselves,

He stares down at the background of his phone, which is still a candid picture of Wally. He hadn't even known Dick took it. He feels another stab of pain and ignores it again. He dials Barry's number and waits for the older speedster to answer. 

When he does so before the first ring has even gone by, Dick isn't too surprised. 

"Dick? Have you seen Bart? I heard him get up and I can't find him," Barry rushes out, and Dick can't help the tiny smile pulling at his lips. 

"Hey, Barry. Yeah, he's here," he replies, and Barry immediately lets out a heavy sigh of relief. "Had a rough night, though. Do you mind if he stays here for the night?"

The speedster sounds sad as he replies, "he's been having a lot of those. If it helps, he can stay there as long as he wants."

Dick nods, even though Barry can't see him. "I think it is. I'll see you later, Barry."

"Bye!" he tries to sound cheerful, like always, but Dick knows he's just trying to make himself feel better. 

He stares at the phone in his hand for a moment, before heading back into the living room. 

Bart is curled up against the arm of the couch, wrapped tightly in the blanket that used to be Wally's favorite, waiting for him to return so he can start the movie. They've both seen it countless times, but it doesn't seem to matter.

Dick collapses onto the couch beside the kid, heaves a sigh, and presses play. After a few minutes, Bart inches closer to him, and eventually, they're leaning against each other as they watch.

It's not the same without Wally, but someday, no matter how far away, they'll be okay. 

Someday. 

 


End file.
